First, I'm glad you came to this section because it's important to know what to do with these picks once you have them!  But before I talk about how to trade the selections, keep in mind the emphasis is on "trade."  These picks might make great investments, but that's not my game.  Instead, all I'm interested in is making the most amount of money in the least amount of time.  In other words, a 5% gain in 2 days is a heckuva lot better than a 50% gain in 2 years.

Let me use MTZ as example to illustrate entry and exit.  This is a pick from 3/4/09 and it worked nicely.

Entry:

Contrary to popular opinion, I've always found straight market entries (market on open), to be the best, easiest way to start the trade.  In other words, if it's a long pick like MTZ, I simply log on and put in a "buy at open" order.  Yes, the stock may gap up, giving me an entry higher than I like.  However, what often happens is that a stock gaps up at the open...and keeps on going.  If you're a trader, there are few things worse than playing cute on a trade waiting for a great entry, only to see the stock gap open and rip 10% higher with you on the sidelines.  

That said, many of you will feel more comfortable with a limit order, and in that case you might want to make your limit order the previous close, or at least just a few cents higher.  Yes, you'll miss some good trades.  But, you'll also get better fills.

Exit:

Okay, now we're in the trade, so how do we get out?.  The first thing to do -- and really you should do this before you even enter the trade -- is to set a stop.  In other words, decide IN ADVANCE, how much you're willing to lose.  This should be weighed, by the way, against how much you're willing to make, as well as how long you're willing to stay in the trade.  But for now, just decide how wrong you're willing to be.

Along those lines, I've always used a standard stop percentage.  You can decide what stop is right for you, but for whatever reason, a 5 or 6% stop works reasonably well.  So, if you've entered at the open, then as soon as you get your fill, put in a sell order (if it's a long; a buy to cover order if it's a short), using the percentage you're comfortable with.

Okay, the stop is set, but what if things go right and the stock moves in your direction?  Again, what's worked for me is to also put in a limit order as soon as I've put my stop in.  In fact, most brokers allow you to place a OCO (one cancels the other), where you can place both your stop and limit order at the same time.  Then, as soon as one is hit, the other is cancelled.  That's a huge benefit as you can set the parameters of the trade and then go back to your normal routine.  (By the way, your normal routine should NOT be to watch the trade move tick-by-tick.  Unless, of course, you want to drive yourself crazy!)

Not surprisingly, I've also used a limit target in the past, also in the 5 to 6% range.  That percentage allows me to make a reasonable profit in a short amount of time, sometimes allowing me to close the trade the same day I put in on.

Now, with all this in mind, there are millions of ways to trade these picks.  You can use trailing stops, or you can enter not the next day, but 2 days after I've profiled the pick, counting on a pullback.  You can exit on the first big move in your direction -- regardless of the percentage -- or you can take partial profits as the stock moves into the green.  Some wags have even suggested the best way to play my picks is to short the longs and go long the shorts!  I don't advise that, but hey, if that seems to work for you, have at it. 

The bottom line, is that the longs I show are the stocks most likely to keep rising, even if only for a short amount of time. Meanwhile, the shorts are the stocks most likely to keep falling.  It doesn't always work out that way -- that's why we use stops -- but it's a good start.  For more on how I trade, my philosophy, and in general, what I'm talking about, go to this link:  http://www.thestreet.com/comment/gbs/10189892.html